Buffalo Bills News - August 1, 2015

Ryan continues the offseason mantra: ‘We want to win’ [1:57 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'“We want to win, I can tell you that much,” Ryan said. “And we expect to win. I think going into it we are going to work. We are going to do anything we can to put ourselves in that position. That certainly is our objective to get in there and obviously we will see, we have a lot of work to do."'

The QB report [1:56 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'EJ Manuel: Fumbled his first snap and tripped while dropping back on another. Was way off the mark on three consecutive incompletions in team drills. One was a sideline route well over the head of Sammy Watkins.'

Charges dropped against Bills assistant Kromer and his son [1:55 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'“They don’t want us to force their children to be witnesses, participants in a prosecution – under the circumstances of this case – where the injuries were minor with the one child who was injured,” Elmore said. “It doesn’t appear there will be any likely contact between them again. It seemed like it was an isolated incident. And as far as the Kromers are concerned, we’re going to honor their parents’ request to drop the charges.'

Wilson Foundation to get advice on grants from local organization [1:54 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation will continue to seek counsel from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, in order to achieve local insight and connect with other local grant makers, as part of its mission to distribute more than $1.2 billion over the next 20 years.'

Rex Ryan feeling sky-high after Day 1 of Bills camp [1:53 AM]Rochester D&C reports:
'"I thought it would be tough finding something to top jumping out of a plane, but as a football coach, I think this topped it," said Ryan, who made his much-publicized sky-diving debut a couple of weeks ago during the Niagara Air Show. "This day was a long time coming, you can't wait to get out here, itching and ready to go, you experience the fans, great weather, on the grass and all that stuff, man, it's tremendous."'

Party’s over: LeSean McCoy says it’s time for football [1:52 AM]Rochester D&C reports:
'“He was pissed off I didn’t invite him,” McCoy said of Ryan. “He gave me a speech for about two hours on how it’s ‘about the team. If one guy has women, we all need women.’ Yeah we talked about it.”'

Charges against Bills coach Kromer dropped [1:51 AM]Rochester D&C reports:
'“Kurt’s obviously going to head up coaching the offensive line,” Bills coach Rex Ryan said. “He’s obviously been here throughout (the offseason, not to mention four years on previous Bills staffs). I think he’s got the qualities to be a fine offensive line coach, but it’s just business as usual for us.”'

Ryan enthused as the Bills open camp [1:50 AM]Olean Times Herald reports:
'“You get out here and experience the fans, you experience the great weather … on the grass, man it’s tremendous. I’m glad I’m getting paid what I’m getting paid, but when you look at this, you would do it for a heckuva lot less. I mean way, way, way less.”'

Drake vs. Meek Mill: LeSean McCoy, Duke Williams and other Buffalo Bills weigh in on rappers' f [1:49 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'Finally, on Thursday night, almost a week after Drake's first diss track came out, Meek Mill responded. So when Williams made it back to his dorm ready to turn in before his first training camp practice Friday morning, he couldn't sleep. First, he had to listen to Meek Mill's "Wanna Know" at least a few times. He came away disappointed.'

Bills' Seantrel Henderson not worried about Aaron Kromer's absence, competition with Cyrus [1:48 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'"Kurt was there when I got here last year, so that's my man," Henderson said. "Me and Kurt already got that chemistry. He was a big reason why I played last year. He stayed on me, stayed with me, you know what I'm saying? He told me exactly how to do everything, and so did coach Pat Morris. But Kurt is my man. I love working with Kurt. They all just wanted to see me do well and succeed in this league."'

Percy Harvin asked Rex Ryan to play cornerback at Buffalo Bills training camp [1:46 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'"He wanted to help this team out in anyway," Ryan said. "And you know you have a guy like Leodis go down or whatever you can't have enough depth at cornerback in my opinion first hand info. So lets see what he can do. Obviously we are not going to over coach him and all that stuff. We expect him to be a top receiver."'

5 Rex Ryan takeaways from day one [1:45 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'"It just had a different feel," Ryan said. "I don't know if it is because it is my second chance or whatever it is. I think I am better prepared now than I was then even though that same enthusiasm that I have now I had back then I can promise you."'

Ugly day for Matt Cassel, QBs and 6 other observations [1:44 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'Cassel was off the mark throughout the day, missing Sammy Watkins deep on a few occasions and settling for check-downs often. Tyrod Taylor also got to mix in with the first-team offense, but he looked a bit uncomfortable in the pocket. Taylor took a few sacks and was looking to scramble often, even during seven-on-seven drills in which the defensive line was not participating.'

LeSean McCoy on women-only party: 'There wasn't going to be any weird orgy' [1:43 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'"No, I'm lying, he did (talk to me)," McCoy said. "He was pissed off I didn't invite him. He gave me a whole speech for about two hours — 'You've got to be about the team. If one guy has women, we all need women.' No, I'm joking, he didn't say that. We didn't really talk about it. On a serious note, it's a thing I do every year with teammates. I didn't do it this year. It got too wild. I should never have posted it. I take blame for that."'

9 non-quarterbacks to watch during practices [1:42 AM]Syracuse Post Standard reports:
'Kouandjio, a second-round pick in 2014, didn't see the field as a rookie. He had a rough training camp and preseason a year ago while Henderson, a 2014 seventh-round pick, made a quicker transition. Has time allowed Kouandjio to catch up? We'll see when the pads come on during practice Sunday.'

No timeline for choosing QB, Bills GM says [1:41 AM]Toronto Sun reports:
'“That’s the one thing I’ve truly believed since I’ve been in this business. Players will see through anything that you put out there that’s not right. They know. They’re smarter than a lot of people give them credit for. And they’re going to know who the guy should be behind centre.”'

Bills' McCoy says there was nothing shady about party [1:40 AM]Toronto Sun reports:
'“But for the record, it was no weird orgy thing going on ... I cancelled it. It got too wild. I felt like everybody took it out of context so I just, I just cancelled it ... I should have never posted it.”'

Buffalo Bills kick off training camp at St. John Fisher [1:39 AM]Canandaigua Daily Messenger reports:
'But this season, it’s different. Optimism is at an all-time high and with new coach Rex Ryan, new running back LeSean McCoy and a defense that’s among the NFL’s best, expectations are immense. The Bills haven’t been to the playoffs in 15 years, currently the longest drought in the NFL.'

Buffalo Bills feeding hunger of long offseason [1:38 AM]Canandaigua Daily Messenger reports:
'“Oh man, this is the best thing in the world,” fullback Boobie Dixon said after practice ended. “This is what I love to do … The fans out here cheering, it’s a motivator. It feeds the soul.”'

Charges against NFL coach, son dismissed [1:36 AM]Northwest Florida Daily News reports:
'The families felt that continued prosecution would result in “substantial disruption of the lives of the minor children and their respective families,” according to a letter from the State Attorney’s Office to the Kromers’ attorney.'

McCoy creates buzz as Buffalo Bills open training camp [1:35 AM]AP reports:
'"I always try to get the fans involved," said McCoy, who was acquired in a trade that sent linebacker Kiko Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles. "No player is there actually looking forward to camp. So the fans come out here and cheer us up and get us going. I try to do the same."'

Ryan: Bills hiring Pat Meyer has no ties to Kromer's status [1:34 AM]AP reports:
'Though the Bills announced Meyer was hired as a football operations consult on Friday, Ryan said the hiring actually took place in June. That was before Kromer was arrested and charged with battery following an alleged altercation on July 12.'

Bills' celebrated QB battle begins with a whimper [1:32 AM]The Sports Xchange reports:
'Ryan made it clear throughout the offseason that when the Bills came to training camp, the quarterback job would be wide open -- and may the best man win. To that end, he has adopted offensive coordinator Greg Roman's two-spot system where team drills are going on simultaneously at both ends of the practice field in order to give not only the quarterbacks, but everyone else, more reps. However, it is specifically helpful to the quarterbacks who need all the time they can get.'

Charge against Bills' Kromer dismissed [1:31 AM]The Sports Xchange reports:
'Assistant state attorney Bobby Elmore told ESPN that the accusers' parents asked for the charge to be dismissed after they reached an "amicable resolution" with Kromer's attorneys.'

Bills DE Williams cleared for practice [1:30 AM]The Sports Xchange reports:
'Williams was cleared for the team's first practice of training camp on Friday morning at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y.'

Bills' Ryan is giddy about day one of camp [1:28 AM]WGR-AM reports:
'As you can imagine Rex Ryan was also off the charts too and couldn’t contain his excitement, “I would like to say I thought it was going to be tough to find something to top jumping out of a plane, but as a football coach I think this topped it. The reason I say it is this day was a long time coming, you can’t wait to get out, you itch and are ready to go and you get out here and you experience the fans, you experience the great weather, on the grass it’s tremendous.”'